Shonte Boehnke (center) is now a student of the Bible and at ASU Jesus the Lord of her life!
“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing… This is the gospel that
you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven!”
October 2009 marked the third anniversary for the SoldOut Movement! So much has
happened since those faithful autumn days in Portland, Oregon in 2006. In just three
years time, yet with ever-increasing momentum, the Spirit has gathered disciples in 13
cities in the United States, as well as in Australia, Chile, Curacao, Democratic Republic of
Congo, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Philippines,
Russia, Suriname, Sweden and Ukraine.
Always in our prayers and so dear to Elena’s and my hearts have been you – the City of
Angels Church. The Lord began our congregation with “sold-out” disciples from Port-
land on May 6, 2007. Locally – in just two-and-a-half years – God has increased our
number to 245 disciples with an attendance of nearly 400 and a weekly contribution
of $11,000! Unparalleled in my memory from such a young congregation in America,
is the sending out of 41 disciples on three mission teams: Honolulu (June 2008), New
York City (September 2008) and Portland (January 2009). Collectively, the Spirit has
multiplied the City of Angels Church and our three daughter churches to 425 disciples
with a Sunday attendance of 750 and a weekly contribution of $17,500! (This does not
even include the impact of our financial support of the Lord’s work in Santiago, Chile
– where we send $3,500 per month.)
So exciting have been the reports of how God has moved in the first year of the Hono-
lulu, New York City and Washington DC church plantings! In the tropical paradise but
sin-filled city of Honolulu, Kyle & Joan Bartholomew – with only six other disciples on
their mission team –were joined by the 12 disciples in the Honolulu Remnant Group.
Amazingly, in their first year, the Lord blessed these 20 disciples with 20 baptisms! In
New York City, the Empire City International Christian Church started with a mission
team of 18 disciples, who were joined by George & Sharman Grima, already living in
Manhattan. So God had 20 disciples going to this city of 20 million – the odds: a mil-
lion to one! In their first year, DJ & Kacie Comisford report that the Lord blessed them
with 32 baptisms! In Washington DC, the 19 member mission team, led by Andrew &
Patrique Smellie from Syracuse, New York, saw the Lord add to their number 19 bap-
tisms, 19 place memberships and three restorations their very first year! Most of the
baptisms were college students from such schools as Howard University, Georgetown
and the University of the District of Columbia. In Portland, after just 10 months,
Ron & Tracy Harding shared that their mission team of eight disciples was joined by a rem-
nant group of 26. Since the beginning, the Lord has added 31 baptisms, 18 restorations
and 19 placed memberships! The Portland International Christian Church on Sundays
is nearing 200 in attendance!
At the 2009 Global Leadership Conference, the Crown of Thorns Project was unveiled!
With the four most influential cities in the United States – New York City, Los Angeles,
Chicago and Washington DC – each home to dynamic discipling congregations, as
well as having awesome churches in Eugene, Hilo, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoe-
nix, Portland and Syracuse, the evangelization of the United States in this generation
is well under way. Therefore, the goal of the Crown of Thorns Project is to plant disci-
pling churches in the 12 most influential cities around the world outside of America.
These plantings will give God’s new movement the ability to go into all nations in this
generation. This concept was solidified in the hearts and minds of Michael & Michele
Williamson through their recent visit to London. As the Williamsons walked the streets
of London, they heard languages and accents through which they identified people
from all over Europe and Africa, as well as in such Commonwealth nations as Australia,
Singapore, India and of course, Great Britain. When the Spirit, working through our
efforts, evangelizes the campuses in a city such as London, after graduation, these in-
credibly talented and idealistic young people will return to their home nations on mis-
sion teams with fellow national disciples!
The 12 targeted cities form a circle – “a crown of thorns” – around the globe! These
world-cities include: Cairo, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Manila,
Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, Santiago, Sao Paulo and Sydney. Prayerfully, there will be
church plantings in all of these cities in the next four to five years. So exciting, the Spirit
is already moving in many of these cities! In Santiago, a powerful remnant group was
formed by the heroic leadership of Raul & Lynda Moreno in the fall of 2007. In June of
2008, Matt & Helen Sullivan were sent to Santiago with only three other disciples – Me-
lina Zepeda and Steve & Grace Droblas. The Sullivans, after training in Portland and
aided by Chris & Sonja Chloupek, built the foundation of sold-out disciples in Phoenix.
This prepared them for a similar task in Chile. While learning Spanish, Matt & Helen
have now built a base of 66 sold-out disciples that will multiply throughout Spanish-
speaking South America.
In London, Tim & Lianne Kernan, gallant but not thoroughly trained, gathered 19 peo-
ple for the remnant group. After six months of “preaching Jesus Christ and Him cruci-
fied” – grace and commitment – their group numbered only six, including them.
At that time I encouraged them not to be distraught, because the Word had built a foundation
of only sold-out disciples! Now, a year-and-a-half later, the Lord has blessed them with
nine baptisms in the past eight weeks bringing their membership to 33 disciples! Come
next August, at the 2010 World Missions Jubilee, we will send Michael & Michele Wil-
liamson on a team of 12 trained leaders to be joined by the powerful London Remnant
Group, officially planting the London International Christian Church! The Kernans will
come to LA and will train for one to two years. Then, since the Kernans are fluent in
French, they will lead a mission team to plant our sister church in Paris!
Recently moved from Moscow to LA are Sasha & Louisa Kostenko. The Kostenkos led the 11,000
disciples in the 15 nations, of what was once the Soviet Union, in our former fellowship. Already
their faith is being revitalized and has encouraged other former full-time leaders in Russia and
Ukraine, to plan to move to LA. Presently, there is a small remnant group in Moscow and a 75
member remnant group in Kiev, Ukraine. Moscow, as well as Kiev, will have church plantings in
less than two years!
Arriving in LA in January are Andrew & Patrique Smellie! They will lead the West Region and
focus their energies on the campuses of UCLA, Santa Monica College and USC. (Carlos & Lucy
Mejia – accompanied by Afa Maile and one of our most effective shepherding couples, Jack &
Jeanne McGee – will be sent out from LA in December to take over the leadership of the DC
Church.) The Smellies, after having built a great discipling congregation in Washington DC and
with the training they will receive in LA, prayerfully will lead a dynamic mission team to Johan-
nesburg, South Africa in 2011! We are praying for visas so that Joe & Kerry Willis from Brisbane,
Australia can arrive by this January as well. The Willises, in our former fellowship, oversaw sev-
eral churches in Great Britain. They too are coming to have their faith and convictions strength-
ened, as well as to build bonds of friendship with the other leaders who will be sent out, thus
creating a worldwide brotherhood. Lord willing, in the summer of 2011, they will lead a mis-
sion team to Sydney, Australia. Also, presently training in LA are Raul & Lynda Moreno and Vic
& Aurora Gonzalez. These couples have been selected to plant the Sao Paulo and Mexico City
Churches, respectively. Presently, the Morenos are inspirationally leading the Orange County
Region and the Gonzalezs are being sent this December with a mission team to lead the San
Diego Region!
New to the City of Angels Church is Mike Patterson. The Lord has used him powerfully in build-
ing the Arizona State Campus Ministry and now our South Region, especially the Long Beach
State Campus Ministry. Mike is excited to be asked to go to Cairo, Egypt. Interestingly, John Be-
shai – the Egyptian lawyer, who in the past helped to open doors to plant churches throughout
the Middle East – recently joined the new movement! He celebrated his 80th birthday last week
on Halloween day! Kyle Bartholomew and his Filipina wife Joan, have been asked to lead the
Manila Mission Team. They are presently discipling the remnant group in Manila.
Also targeted for Asia are DJ & Kacie Comisford. Since the Lord has blessed them and refined
their discipling skills in New York City, they will surely be able to build an awesome congrega-
tion of disciples in Hong Kong, that will spread throughout mainland China – with a population
of 1.3 billion. In India – also a nation of over one billion lost souls – there are already
three remnant groups – Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. These groups are overseen
by Raja and Debs Rajan. Ultimately, New Delhi will be our pillar church.
The Crown of Thorns Project will require unprecedented “faith, hope and love.” (1 Corin-
thians 13: 13) To aid us in winning the hearts of a lost world is the new benevolent arm
of our churches – MERCYworldwide, nobly led by Nick & Denise Bordieri. Sadly at this
crucial hour, many who dare call themselves “disciples” deride the dream of the “evan-
gelization of all the nations in this generation” as an impossibility. Yet, sold-out disciples
worship the God of the impossible and wholeheartedly believe in Jesus’ only plan for
the salvation of our lost world – making disciples, who make disciples, who make dis-
ciples! Let us be motivated by the divine blood that was shed for us as that “crown of
thorns” was savagely pressed into our Savior’s head. And let us all the more fervently
pray, that before five years are past, a new “crown of thorns” – composed of multiplying
discipling churches – encircles the globe! And to our God be all the glory and honor
and praise!
Kip McKean
